Eye Health : Astigmatism

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Astigmatism is a kind of refractive eye health disorder wherein the cornea of the person is irregularly curved. This is a very common eye disease that can affect people from any walk of life and without regard to the age brackets they belong.

Astigmatism does not necessarily require any treatment or medications and the most effective way of solving it is through corrective surgery or the use of corrective glasses. Either way, astigmatism treatment is very safe as it comes with almost no risk factors that are associated in the current practice today.

As said earlier, astigmatism affects a lot of people. Even though treatment isn’t really required, astigmatism is not to be taken so lightly. This is because when it worsens, it can cause a person to experience extremely blurred vision – making him prone to accidents and other dangerous situations.

Astigmatism is usually experienced along with other eye complications such as hyperopia and myopia but not in all cases.

Symptoms of a person with astigmatism

A person with astigmatism may experience headaches, double vision and other symptoms that lead to blurred vision and difficulty of focusing.

This is because when a person has astigmatism, the eye shape of the person is more like an oval. This flaw in curvature refracts the light into several directions, allowing the person to focus on just a limited range and scale. A sufferer usually experiences a blurry vision in all directions.

Again, not all cases of astigmatism require immediate treatment. People with minimal astigmatism can live on with their lives without having much trouble with their vision.

What causes astigmatism

While astigmatism can be attributed to several culprits, the main cause of its occurrence is heredity. This means that if your family has a history of astigmatism, you have a chance of acquiring the same condition.

In contrary to what some people believe, astigmatism is not a result of poor diet, bad reading habits or watching too much television.

Astigmatism is mainly hereditary and other known outside factors that influence its occurrence are eye injuries, complications due to surgery and disease.

How do you know if it is astigmatism?

Astigmatism can be diagnosed by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist as only they can perform an in-depth eye examination. With the same test, they can gauge the severity of the case and suggest whether you need treatment or not. Minimal astigmatism does not necessarily require much of a medical attention but severe cases should meet immediate treatment.

Treatment for Astigmatism

There are a lot of methods in resolving astigmatism. The most straightforward method would probably be the surgical correction. This process involves the use of surgery to correct the shape of your lens with the help of new age lasers.

If you don’t want to undergo or can’t afford this kind of eye health treatment, you can always seek out the cheaper alternative which is the use of prescription eye wear. It is the most practical and affordable option but promises results that is not as immediate and as long term as in surgery.